Tourism Spending In Canada Grows 1.5% In Third Quarter Of 2017

Tourism spending in Canada rose 1.5% in the third quarter driven by tourism spending by Canadians at home, new data from Statistics Canada shows.

Tourism spending by Canadians within Canada grew 2% in the third quarter, compared with a 1.9% increase in the previous quarter. However, spending by international visitors to Canada declined during the third quarter of 2017, said Statistics Canada.

Growth in tourism domestically was driven largely by increased expenditures on passenger air transport, which grew at the fastest pace (6.1%) since the first quarter of 2011. Spending on food and beverage services (1.9%) and accommodation (1%) also increased during the quarter.

This increase was offset slightly by spending among international visitors to Canada, which decreased 0.4% in the third quarter of 2017 after edging 0.2% higher during the second quarter of last year. Lower expenditures on passenger air transport (-1.5%) accounted for most of the decline, followed by food and beverage services (-0.5%) and accommodation (-0.3%).

Tourism employment within Canada rose 0.5% in the third quarter, following 1.1% growth in the previous quarter, led by food and beverage services (1.1%) and accommodation (0.8%). Tourism jobs in travel services (-1.1%) and air transportation (-0.5%) decreased during the period.